Asteroid and Commet Speculative Mining Space Mining is not a new idea. The earliest known attempt to extract metallic materials from the vacuum of space occurred on January 17, 1885 at the Heidelberg Observatory in Germany. In that attempt, a small mass of gold-rich ore was exploded on a wooden frame, exposing it to vacuum to remove most of the gas, but leaving behind a very small quantity of the gold ore. While the effort was unsuccessful, it did provide a small amount of success which motivated similar attempts in the 20th century, often with a great deal more success. Today, Space Mining is big business with a considerable amount of mining companies on Earth today. According to experts, within the next few years, humanity is likely to send astronauts to explore asteroids or moons with mining infrastructure already in place. While there are several methods of extracting metals from asteroids, two of the most promising methods for mining in space are space elevators and asteroidal gas stations. The most common method of extracting space metals is to take advantage of the high gravity of an asteroid to bring the precious metals down from space. By creating large structures with counter-rotating spaceships, the gravity will be enough to pull down the mining equipment to extract the necessary metals and materials. These mining ships can then dock with these asteroids to obtain water, gas, and other resources that are left in the asteroids. The other more extreme, and as of yet unproven, method of asteroid mining is called ‘space elevators’ which use a giant elevator to lift materials from space. This system uses a large counterweight to create a constant acceleration that lifts the materials from the planet's surface and into orbit, where the materials can be delivered by shuttle craft. Though this is the ultimate method of asteroid mining, no such system currently exists on Earth and construction of such a system could be very complicated and expensive. On top of that, only materials of similar density to lead can be used for the counterweight, which drastically cuts down the material list for feasible asteroids to be exploited for resources. In 2016, a study by the University of Strathclyde in Scotland estimates that within the next decade, asteroid mining could be a practical reality. The study also said that within 20 to 40 years, there could be up to five asteroids used to extract metals on a regular basis. 3. Metallic Hydrocarbons Like many other minerals, the hydrocarbons found in asteroids, such as gas or oil, have useful chemical properties and can be used in many ways, whether they are fuel or a building material. Not only are these materials used as a fuel for many systems on Earth, but they are also used as feedstocks for plastics, fuel, and jet fuel. In addition, these materials are extremely important to any space program. Without fuel and hydrocarbons, no journey to other planets or asteroids would be possible. In the future, the use of asteroids could provide a constant source of fuel to space missions and space explorers. Currently, Earth has over 12,000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. To make use of this massive resource for energy on Earth would require thousands of drilling rigs pumping millions of cubic feet of gas a day. Though this sounds amazing, the process of extracting the methane gas is very dangerous, both because of the gases they are extracting and the environments in which they have to operate. It’s actually safer and more efficient to convert methane from asteroids to other forms of fuel such as hydrogen. As mentioned above, the material is used as a fuel for many other uses. Therefore, using natural gas from asteroids is not only a practical alternative for our on-Earth processes but can also be converted into fuel for interplanetary exploration. 4. Platinum Metals Gold and silver are among the more valuable precious metals on Earth. Though not rarer than the two precious metals, platinum has become very valuable in the last few decades because of how effective it is in creating certain technologies. Its primary use, though, is in space, including the fuel cell used on the space shuttle and the fuel cells that power the International Space Station. It’s also used in electronic components and jewelry. With all of these uses, platinum metal is one of the rarest in the world. In fact, the first platinum found on Earth was discovered in South Africa and was called the ‘Cape Platinum’ and is known as ‘the rarest element on Earth’. The average concentration of platinum in Earth’s crust is 0.01 parts per million, but it can be found in small amounts in ores all around the world. Due to its scarcity and importance, it is also one of the rarest minerals that can be found in the cosmos. If you think that is pretty rare, you’re not wrong. With all of the valuable uses platinum has, its very rare in the cosmos. In fact, the only time platinum has been found in this state was as a small, irregular mass that was discovered in a dwarf planet called Ceres. In fact, this is the only known metal in the solar system that is found in both the asteroid belt and the dwarf planet. 5. Rare-Earth Metals Though gold and platinum are commonly found in space, the same cannot be said for rare-earth metals, which are much more scarce in nature than precious metals. Rare-earth metals can be found in many places on Earth, such as within the soil of certain rocks and rocks found in South Africa, Canada, Brazil, Brazil, South America, and other places. Unfortunately, rare-earth metals are not useful for living on Earth and therefore very rarely made into usable metals. Rare-earth metals were originally discovered by the Chinese many thousands of years ago, but have been found on Earth over thousands of years as well. The use of rare-earth metals has slowly increased in recent decades due to their many technological uses, especially in creating alloys such as neodymium for computers and other electronics. It has also found use in space exploration, but as a whole, very few rare-earth metals have ever been discovered. In fact, while some claim that there are no other metals in the world that are worth more than $100 per ton, rare-earth metals are worth an average of $5 per ton. While rare-earth metals have only been found once, they are only a small percentage of metals on Earth, and due to the rarity of the metals, they could be worth more than a trillion dollars per year. 6. Helium-3 Helium-3 is a rare metal on Earth and it is also one of the rarest metals in the universe. Helium-3 is mainly composed of the inert gas (non-reactive) and is a very rare gas on Earth, which is why it is so valuable. In fact, so rare is it, that despite many claims, only a few tiny claims have been found on Earth, mostly in parts of the continental United States. Most of the time, it is just an ingredient for experiments in the fields of nuclear physics and chemistry. Helium-3 is very important in scientific research because of its inert nature, meaning it can be used as a radiation shield, does not react with other materials, and is used for scientific purposes. The only way to get helium-3 into space is by means of an experiment, a reaction on Earth, or by collecting it from the moon. In 2012, researchers discovered that there was a large deposit of helium-3 on the moon. If such deposits of helium-3 were found on other planets, the collection could prove valuable. The material is used in hospitals on Earth and can be seen as a form of energy in hospitals. Since helium-3 does not react with other materials or radiate radiation, it is safe for humans to have it in their vicinity. It’s also worth much more per ton than any other metal, making it a very valuable rare metal that can be used to create many important items. 7. Gold Dust Since gold is the second most valuable mineral on Earth, you might think that it’s also quite rare in space, but that is not the case. On the contrary, gold dust is commonly found in space in the asteroid belt. While there is a large amount of gold dust in the asteroids, the material is in the form of dust and therefore cannot be used for any important uses on Earth. However, it is still an important source of building materials, medicine, electronics, and even cosmetics. Though the material can be used as an ingredient in electronics, only a small amount of dust will be needed to form a single electronic component. For most electronics, gold dust is used as an ingredient in cosmetics. In addition, some cosmetics use gold dust in the form of gold flakes to help form a protective shield against ultraviolet radiation. In fact, small amounts of gold dust are used in a very wide range of products. Since gold dust is not a metal, it cannot be used for any electronic components. Gold dust is mostly used for medical research, cosmetics, or food additives in small amounts. Though it is mostly used as an ingredient, it is also quite valuable, since it can be used in making electronics and cosmetics, which increase the value of the material even more. In addition, even though gold dust is very common in the cosmos, it can only be collected on Earth, and to create it into another form would take much work.